Table 3.
Challenges faced by family caregivers involved in treatment decisions by treatment decision type a .
| Decision area | Total N = 1661 | Not everyone on the care team agreed, 13.7% (N = 228) | Some team members didn't agree with the doctor's recommendation, 13.5% (N = 224) | I didn't have enough info to make this decision, 11.8%, (N = 196) | I didn't understand how the treatment would work, 14.8% (N = 246) | I didn't understand the out‐of‐pocket costs of treatments, 17.3% (N = 287) | I didn't know caregiver responsibilities for each of the treatment options, 15.9% (N = 264) | I didn't know how treatment(s) would affect the person with cancer's physical condition, 24.8% (N = 412) | I didn't know how treatments would affect the person with cancer's quality of life, 23.2% (N = 386) | I didn't understand the treatment schedules, 10.4% (N = 172) | I didn't understand the risks and benefits of treatment, 13.4% (N = 222) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Column % | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | Column % (n) | |
| Deciding where to get treatment | 36.1 | 2.6 (6) | 3.1 (7) | 4.1 (8) | 4.1 (10) | 3.4 (10) | 2.7 (7) | 2.9 (12) | 2.8 (11) | 4.7 (8) | 3.6 (8) |
| Deciding on the treatment plan (e.g., surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy) | 27.0 | 34.2 (78) | 33.5 (75) | 35.2 (69) | 38.6 (95) | 39.7 (114) | 38. 3 (101) | 43.7 (180) | 43.3 (167) | 38.9 (67) | 36.5 (81) |
| Deciding to get a second opinion on the treatment plan | 12.8 | 25.9 (59) | 23.7 (53) | 23.4 (46) | 24.8 (61) | 20.2 (58) | 17.8 (47) | 19.7 (81) | 18.7 (72) | 20.3 (35) | 21.2 (47) |
| Deciding whether to begin treatment | 17.6 | 23.7 (54) | 24.1 (54) | 24.5 (48) | 32.5 (80) | 26.4 (76) | 31.4 (83) | 26.2 (108) | 26.7 (103) | 36.0 (62) | 28.8 (64) |
| Deciding whether or not to stop cancer treatment completelyb | 6.4 | 13.6 (31) | 15.6 (35) | 12.8 (25) | – | 10.1 (29) | 9.8 (26) | 7.5 (31) | 8.6 (33) | – | 9.9 (22) |
| Column p valuec | – | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 | <.001 |
a
% of respondents for challenges areas who ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ agreed with the statement.
b
Item stems altered to fit the context of stopping treatment (e.g., ‘Not everyone on the care team agreed about stopping treatment’, ‘I didn't understand the out‐of‐pocket costs of stopping treatment’).
c
Pearson χ 2.